Time-recording apparatus.



A. G. JACKSON. TIME RECORDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7,1913.

P J m Ll 1,132,659 Him WITNESSES.-

THE "OI-IRIS PETERS C0,, PHOTC-LITHII, WASHINGTON. D. C.

A. C.-JAGKSON. TIME RECORDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7,1913. Y

Patented Mar.23,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W/TNESSES ARTHUR C. JACKSON, OF PHTLADELPHIA, P

COMPANY, OF FRANKIE 0RD, PHILADEL PENNSYLVANIA.

ENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 MILLER LOCK PHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF TIME-RECORDING APPARATUS.

Application filed February 7, 19 13.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR C. JACKSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Time-Recording Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that form of timerecording devices, by which the entering and leaving times of employees, students, etc., at their places of employment, and the times of starting and stopping on particular jobs, are registered on individual or com bined cards, from which the total. working time of an employee for the week, and the total time occupied on given pieces of work, is computed. 1

The object of my invention is to provide a time recording apparatus of such a char acter that the recorded matter may be more easily read and the value of the work done more readily computed.

More particularly the object of my invention is to enable the total working time, either for the week or onseparate obs, to be more readily ascertained, and the amount due the workman on any specific piece of work, or the amount due by the party for whom the work is done, or the total weekly earnings of the workman, to be more readily computed, than is possible with other systems now in use.

I will now describe a form of my apparatus for accomplishing these results which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, clearly sets forth my invention, it being understood that the scope of my invention is not limited to the exact structure herein set forth, which is merely illustrative and which may be varied in mechanical detail without departure from the invention as defined in the claims.

Figure 1 shows diagrammatically a form of my improved time recording apparatus. Fig. 2 shows a form of time card that may be used with my device. Fig. 3 shows a portion of the program tape. Fig. 4 is an en larged explanatory view of a section of the tape. Fig. 5 is a diagram of a modified form of electric connections to the Cllfiftillt elements of my improved recording apparatus.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 23, 1915. Serial No. 746,704..

Referring to Fig. 1, A represents a master clock, B a program device and G a recorder. These three instruments are old in the art and it will only be necessary to describe the novel manner in which they are interconnected and geared up to elfect the results sought. Connected to the pintle of the seconds hand of the master clock is a short arm a which rotates with the serrated wheel I) of the escapement. A finger c is attached to but insulated from the balance lever (Z of the escapement in such a manner that it will contact with the arm a once in every revolution of the escapement wheel, that is, once a minute. The arm a and finger c are electrically connected to binding posts c and f. To the winding drum of the program device B is attached ratchet wheel g, actuated by a solenoid it. The wire 2' connects the binding post 6 with one pole of the solenoid and wire j leads from binding post f to an electrio battery is and thence to the other pole of the solenoid. By this arrangement an electric circuit is made once every minute by arm a and finger 0, thereby giving a for ward movement to the program 10 once every minute. Z is a spring operated arm pivotally mounted on a stud m in such a manner that its free end bears upon the program as it passes over its winding drum. Stud m is mounted in an insulated bushing in the frame of the program device, thus insuring electrical insulation of arm Z from said device. The winding drum of the program and the arm Z are separately wired to binding posts it and 0. A cam shaped projection p, of insulating material. is attached to arm Z in such a manner as to lie partially in the path of solenoid h, when the free end of the arm is contacting with the winding drum.

The operation of arm Z is as follows: As shown in Fig.1, arm a and finger c of the master clock are not in contact; therefore solenoid h is not energized and is in extended position, having moved the insulated projection p outwardly, thereby holding the free end of arm Z out of contact with the program or winding drum. Once every minute the master clock closes its circuit, energizing solenoid ii, which not only r pels the program, but also by moving up out of the way of projection 2), allows end of arm Z to contact with the program 10, or if there is a hole therein, with the winding drum, thus closing electric connection between poles n and 0, and again breaking it, once every minute. This much of the mechanism may be located in the main oilice or any convenient place, and from poles n and 0, wires, as g and 1', may lead to recorders placed in various rooms of the establishment, convenient to the use of sets of employees therein. In each case the connecting wires q and 1' are connected with a solenoid s in the recorder, by way of a battery 25. Solenoid 8 acts on a ratchet wheel u having twelve teeth and carrying on its spindle adisk '2: which has four pins, equally spaced thereon, which act upon the teeth of a second ratchet wheel w. The pulsations which are imparted to solenoid 8 every minute, as long as there is a slot or holes in the program opposite the end of arm l, turn wheel a and disk '0 a twelfth of a revolution each minute, thus bringing one of the pins on the disk to engage ratchet wheel to every three minutes. Ratchet wheel w, having twenty teeth and moving one tooth every three minutes, will make one revolution every hour, and carries a pin which acts at every revolution upon a third ratchet wheel :0 having as many teeth as there are to be working hours in a week, say 55. As long, therefore,

as there is a hole in the program, allowing 7 end of drum Z to contact with its winding drum, minute impulses are given along wires 9 and r to the various recorders actuating, in each instrument, by the gearing just described, the number carrying disks inserted therein.

The form of time card shown in Fig. 3, carries a place for the number and name of employee as usual, and is divided into two parts, which may be on opposite sides of I the card, or both on the same side as shown.

On one part are spaces for recording the employees time of entering and leaving, and on the other part for the time of start ing and stopping any certain piece of work. As an operator enters and leaves each morning and afternoon, he enters the in and out record side of his card into a recorder in the usual manner. When an operator starts and also when he stops a certain piece of work, he presents the job start and stop side of his card to the recorder, so that it stamps the time in a space thereon appropriately reserved for it.

Having now described my improved recording mechanism, I will describe in detail its method of working and advantages.

In the ordinary recorder, the record for any given day reads somewhat as follows:

in out afternoon in out 7.05 10.55 12.55 5.50

morning man, as in this case, is five minutes late in the morning, he loses fifteen minutes. If he is twenty minutes late, he loses thirty minutes, etc. ITherefore, in this case, it is necessary to subtract the next even quarter hour after the in record (which would be 7.15) from the next even quarter hour before the out record (which would be 11.45). This means computation, not between the figures recorded, but with other figures, derived from those recorded, thereby necessitating the expenditure of much time and ofiering abundant opportunity for errors. To compute the number of hours worked per week, this calculation must be made for each morning and for each afternoon of the working days, and the results in hours and minutes added to give the total time. In order to greatly simplify this process, thereby reducing chances of error to a minimum, I have arranged in my improved device, to divide the day, 'by the decimal system, into hours and tenths of an hour. Also by my arrangement I work by elimination instead of aggregation. That is, I begin with the total number. of working hours in the week, say 55. If the hours are from seven to twelve in the morning and from 12.45 to 5.45 in the afternoon, at precisely seven oclock Monday morning my device will turn to 54.9 and will so register up to six minutes after seven,'when it will change to 54.8 (the record changing by one tenth ever 1 six minutes) until at noon it will register 50.00. Any time between 12 and 12.45 it will continue to register 50.00 and at 12.45, starting time, will turn to 49.9 for six minutes to 12.51, when it changes to 49.8, etc., up to closing time 5.45, when it will register 45.00 and stay at that until opening time next morning. The advantage of this method of numbering is seen at once when the record card is examined. It is there seen that the place for the out record comes directly under the place for the in record, and the stop record underneath the start, so that the lower will always be the smaller number and easily subtracted from the larger one above. Also (the numbers representing hours and tenths of an hour) there is no necessity for transforming minutes to decimals. A sample record given above, by my device, would read as follows:

morning in 54.9 out 50.1 afternoon in 49.8 out 45 .0

and the working time is seen at a glance to be 4.8 in the morning and 4.8 in the afternoon, equaling 9.6 hours. Moreover, these figures, being expressed in decimals, are all ready, without further transformation, to be multiplied by the rate per hour. In order to accomplish this simplified result, it is necessary for the recorder to remain idle at noon time (in this assumed case from twelve until 12.45) and at the latter time start recording again the next consecutive six minute interval after it stopped at 12. The same takes place at night, that is, the recorder stops at closing time and remains at the closing figure (in the above case 45.00) until opening time in the morning, when it at once begins automatically to operate the next six minute interval (in this case 44.9.) To thus allow the recorder to have certain predetermined periods of rest from the action of the perpetually running master clock, I have interposed therebetween the program device, which provides that so long as there is an opening through the program 10 allowing the make and break arm I to contact with the winding drum, impulses will be transmitted to the recorder, and when there is no opening through the program (which is of course of insulating material) and the arm is kept, from contacting with the winding drum by the unorificed section of the program between the openings therein, at such time no impulses will be transmitted from binding posts 11. and 0 of the program device, and the recorders remain at rest; that is, if registrations are made they continue to register the last number turned up.

Thus, as shown in Fig. 3, the program is provided with slots y alternating with solid sections 2. Beginning at the top of the figure, slot 1 begins on the program at 7 oclock in the morning and ends at noon. Then comes a solid section 2, which lasts until opening time again, say 12.45, when another slot 3/ starts in and continues up to closing time, say 5.45. Here follows a long solid section 2, corresponding to the night section, when the continuously running pro gram prevents impulses, being transmitted to the recorder, until opening time next morning, when another slot 3 starts in, and the cycle is repeated. At closing time Saturday, the last slot 3 is followed by a solid section .2 long enough to last until opening time Monday morning and the program is therefore of sufficient length to just make one complete passage in a week.

I have explained how the ratchet wheel to in the recorder is operated one tooth every three minutes. The shaft of this wheel, which may be called the minute wheel, carries a disk with the numbers for printing tenths of hours thereon, and the shaft of ratchet wheel x, which may be called the hour wheel, carries a disk with the hour numbers on it. As the minute wheel is impulsed every three minutes, and yet the number should change only every six minutes, each number on the disk it carries is repeated as will be seen in the following description of Fig. 4. As in Fig. 3, here a slot 3 starts in at 7.00 a. m. and at this time the first stroke of arm Z in the program device contacts with the winding drum, thereby giving an impulse to the minute wheel to, which in turn moves the hour wheel one tooth, all of which changes the recorder from the figures 55.00, which it had registered at close of work the day before, or in this case Saturday before, to 54.9. The next impulse given the minute wheel occurs at 7.03, and the number 9 is repeated on its printing disk, so the number recorded will be still'54.9. The next impulse given the minute wheel occurs at 7.06, and here the minute wheel disk brings up 8 instead of 9, and the number recorded will be 548. Proceeding thus, with an opportunity given to change the number recorded every three minutes, but with the number changed only every six minutes, we approach the end of the hour, which may be the noon hour, and therefore the end of first slot y. At 11.54, the recorder registers 50.0. Therefore any one could leave six minutes before the noon hour and still punch 50, which, subtracted from 55.00 (which showed on his card if he came before 7 oclock), would show five hours work. In order to obviate this, I place double naught on the disk of the minute wheel just preceding the impulse which turns the hour wheel, and I stop the slot y just before the hour mark at noon. In this way at 11.54 it will record 50.0, at 11.57 it will record 50.00, and the slot stopping before three more minutes have passed, the recorder will continue at 50.00 over the noon section 2, until the next slot 3 begins at say 12.45, when the next impulse is given to the minute wheel, and the figures are changed to 49.9. This would insure the operator registering within two or three minutes of the hour at most. If it is desired to close at other than the even hour, say at 5.45 p. m. the same arrangement is made, that is, at 5.39 the record marks 45.0, at 5.42 it marks 45.00 and the slot 3 stops just before the 5.45 point is reached, so that the recorder remains at this figure 45.00 until the first impulse given through the slot y at 7 oclock next morning. In this manner a perfect time card for the week would be as shown on the in and out record side in Fig. 2, where no calculation is necessary to tell the number of hours worked. Turning to the other side of this time card it is recorded that John Smith worked on order #112 from 43.8 to 26.4, which by direct and easy substraction is found to amount to 17.4 hours. This means that he began this job at 8.12 Tuesday morning when the recorder registered 43.8 and that he finished the job at 3.36 Wednesday afternoon when the recorder registered 26.4.

It will be understood that the electrical connections to the master clock, program device and time recorder may be arranged in a variety of ways. For-example, in Fig. 5, I have shown a diagram wherein only a single battery is employed, the actuation of the program device being effected through a shunt circuit, while the program device controls the opening and closing of the main circuit between the master clock and the time recorder.

Should it be desired to apply my invention in cases where overtime, evenings or Sundays, is to be recorded, this maybe readily accomplished in various ways. For instance, the hour wheel in the recorder may be provided with a greater number of teeth, enough to provide for the extra hours required, as well as the so called working hours and the program divided with corresponding slots. Then the inking tape of the recorder may be duplexprinting black during the working shifts and at the end of each day shift be moved to bring red ink into action by means well known in the art. A red record would therefore indicate overtime work and be read exactly as has been described for the black records.

I have not herein described the more or less intricate mechanism entering into the construction of the main elements-master clock, program device and recorder-as these instruments are well known in the art; my invention involving merely the combina tion of these instruments in such a way as to effect the recited objects of my invention. I have therefore confined my description to the operative connections between these devices, it being understood that the invention is capable of application to different types of the instruments mentioned.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a time recording mechanism, the combination with a master clock, a program device, a time recorder, and electric circuits, of means controlled from the master clock to efiect the alternate opening and closing of both circuits synchronously means actuated in the opening and closing of one circuit to operate the program device, and means actuated in the opening and closing of the other circuit to operate the time recorder, said program device comprising means to prevent closing the last named circuit for a predetermined number of makes and breaks of the first named circuit.

2. In a time recording mechanism, the

combination with a master clock and a time recorder, said time recorder provided with means adapted to register successive fractional parts of each of a number of separate working periods, of electric circuits, means actuated by the master clock to openand close said circuits, means included in one circuit to operate the time recorder, a program device, means included in the other circuit to operate the program device, and means controlled from the master clock to open and close said circuits synchronously, said program device including a contrivance to prevent the last named means from closing the first circuit at intervals during periods of time representing non-working periods.

3. In a time recording mechanism, the combination of a master clock, a program device, an electro-magnet adapted to operate the program device, an electric circuit,

means included in the program device to maintain said circuit open at intervals during a period of time representing nonworking hours and to allow said circuit to be closed during a period of time representing working hours, a time recorder, an electro-magnet in said circuit adapted to operate the time recorder, and means con trolled by the master clock to intermittently energize the first magnet and synchronously therewith to close said circuit and energize the second magnet during the period representing working hours.

4:. In a time recording mechanism, the combination of a master clock, a program device comprising a rotatable member and a tape having slotted sections alternating with solid sections, a device controlled by the master clock to turn the rotatable member step by step, means operating with said device to alternately contact with and recede from the slotted portion of the tape and the solid part thereof alining therewith, an electric circuit including said rotatable member and the last named means, whereby the circuit is closed at intervals for certain periods of time and maintained open at other periods of time, and means included in the circuit to operate the time recorder.

'In testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand, at Philadelphia, on this 5th day of February, 1913.

ARTHUR G. JACKSON.

Witnesses:

WALTER M. CONARD, Lno M. NOLAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

